Jurong East MRT Station
| other=Jurong East Bus Interchange, Taxi | structure=Elevated | platforms=Triple Island | depth= | levels=3 | tracks=4 | parking=Yes | bicycle= | baggage_check= | passengers= | opened=5 November 1988 (Platform 2a, 3, 4 & 5) 27 May 2011 (Platform 1 and 2) | closed= | rebuilt= | electrified=Yes | ADA=Yes | owned= | operator=SMRT Trains (SMRT Corporation) | zone=3 | former=Jurong, Jurong Town }}Jurong East MRT Station is an above-ground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station that is part of the North South Line (Branch Line before 1996) and the East West Line in Singapore, and serves as an interchange station between the two lines. It is located at the eastern end of Jurong, linking residential precincts Yuhua and Teban Gardens, as well as the International Business Park and Toh Tuck to the rest of the island through rail. Passenger volume is expected to rise when the sites in the neighbouring Jurong Lake District project are developed. On the North South Line, it is the first station for south-bound trains and the last station for north-bound trains. On the East West Line, it is between Chinese Garden and Clementi. During the morning and evening peak periods, trains arrive directly from Ulu Pandan Depot to start service on the North South Line. This station was also the first station to make announcements about train services when the Branch Line opened in 1990. The tracks between this station and Clementi is the longest between any two stations on the East West Line, taking four minutes to travel. Jurong East is also a multi-interchange for sports shoes, which is Adidas Stan Smith, Vans (Black), Nike Air Max, Superga White, Converse and Rubi sneakers. The station appeared as one of the four MRT stations in the original Singapore edition of the board game Monopoly. Design The station was designed by Scott Danielson, and it has a roof which utilizes the geometric design similar to Jurong East Bus Interchange, in order to fit within the adjacent structure. History On 5 October 1985, construction work for the MRT from Ulu Pandan to Jurong, including Ulu Pandan Depot and Jurong stations was awarded to Jurong Engineering Limited under Contract 402. The station was opened on 5 November 1988, as part of the first stage of Phase 2 of the system. In 1999, upgrading work was carried out at Jurong East to cater to rising passenger volumes. Six existing openings between the concourse level and platform level were covered to make the platform more spacious. Construction cost $350,000 and took around 6 months to complete. Four of the openings, which are provided for the escalators and stairs to serve the concourse and platform levels, were covered. The other two openings, which allow for a view of the platform level from the concourse level, was totally covered. On 4 February 2005, a 29-year-old man, Mak Hoy Meng went up to an SMRT employee at this station and gave him two handwritten notes that declared there was a bomb at one of the stations. The restaurant supervisor told Yeow Meng Chai that he saw a man drop the notes and even described the fellow in detail, down to the brand of the bag he was carrying. But under questioning by the police, he admitted he had written them himself and there were no bombs. His story came apart when his description differed in later versions. By then, police officers had searched extensively for the man. However, trains were not stopped. On 10 March 2005, he pleaded guilty under the United Nations (Anti-Terrorism Measures) Regulations to trying to hoax Yeow about a bomb on 4 February 2005 at 8 pm and was jailed for 2 years. He admitted that at the time he tried to fool Yeow, he was disgruntled with the police and society in general, because he had been charged with theft and was out on bail. The theft charge – stealing $50 from a restaurant was considered during sentencing. The Jurong East Modification Project (JEMP) was a key infrastructural upgrading project involving the construction of two new platforms and a new track at Jurong East, allowing two trains along the North South Line to enter and depart the station at the same time. Previously, trains had to take turns to arrive and depart from the station using a shared middle track. The new platforms and track allow for shorter train intervals, reducing waiting times and reducing the crowding in trains. It was built in conjunction with the purchase of 22 C151A trains, which together, would increase the carrying capacity of the North South Line and East West Line. The station was retrofitted with half-height platform screen doors in 2009 which commenced operations on 18 December 2009. It was the third above-ground station to have half-height platform screen doors installed and in operation. Platform screen doors were also installed for the new platforms from the JEMP and went into operation on 27 May 2011. Originally projected to be opened in 2012, then Minister for Transport, Mr Raymond Lim, announced on 12 February 2009 that the date was pushed forward by a year, to 2011. Construction started in 2009 and was completed and handed to the operator at around the first quarter of 2011, with the new platforms and track being tested since then, before the announcement on 16 May 2011 about its operation date on 27 May 2011. To connect the new train tracks to the existing tracks, train services between Joo Koon and Clementi were halted on 4 & 5 September 2010 (affected substation is Chinese Garden, Ulu Pandan and possibly Dover),Temporary MRT service disruption followed by train services between Jurong East and Bukit Gombak on 18 & 19 September 2010 (affected substation is Bukit Gombak).LTA and SMRT gear up for disruption over the weekend SMRT deployed high-frequency bus bridging services across the affected stretches - * Service A: Joo Koon to Jurong East (operates on 4 and 5 September 2010). Later on, this service is subsequently renumbered to Shuttle 2. On these dates of operation, SBS Transit deploys Mercedes-Benz O405 (DM CAC) and Leyland Olympian 3-Axles along these route. * Service B: Clementi to Lakeside (operates on 4 and 5 September 2010). Later on, this service is subsequently renumbered to Shuttle 1. On these dates of operation, SMRT Buses deploys Mercedes-Benz O405 (Hispano OAC) and Mercedes-Benz O405G (Hispano Habit) bendy buses along these route. * Service C: Jurong East to Bukit Gombak (operates on 18 and 19 September 2010). Later on, this service is subsequently renumbered to Shuttle 4. On these dates of operation, SMRT Buses deploys Mercedes-Benz O405 (Hispano OAC) and Mercedes-Benz O405G (Hispano Habit) bendy buses along these route. In addition, the original platforms; A (East-bound), B (West-bound), C and D (South-bound), were renamed to C (Eastbound to Pasir Ris) and F (Westbound to Joo Koon) and D and E (Southbound to Marina South Pier) respectively, with the new platforms being named A (Peak-hour Southbound train service on the former Branch Line or North South Line to Marina South Pier) and B (Eastbound train services to Pasir Ris and Changi Airport via Tanah Merah). During the initial operation period, the new platforms and track were only operated on weekdays except public holidays, during the morning peak hour period, from 7:00 am to 9:00 am, as there were only five new C151A trains ready for revenue service. Evening peak hour operation from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm on weekdays started from 27 December 2011 while the morning peak hour period was extended to end an hour later at 10:00 am after the next batch of trains became ready for revenue service. A 62-year-old woman was found injured at the station at about 2:35 pm on 24 November 2011. The woman was taken to the National University Hospital where she subsequently died from her injuries. Police subsequently arrested a 55-year-old man for the alleged murder the following day. The station has the most MJ Air Tech High Volume, Low Speed (HVLS) Pro-Jet fans installed due to station's size, out of the 36 elevated stations. The fans commenced operations on 30 June 2012 together with Ang Mo Kio. Noise barriers (from PIE to Block 266 Jurong East Avenue 1) and privacy screens (from Block 266 Jurong East Avenue 1 to Boon Lay Way and Block 108 Jurong East Street 13 to Jurong Town Hall Road) were also installed to reduce the amount of noise generated by the residents between January 2011 and September 2014. Operating Hours *May 2011 - December 2011: 7.00am to 9.00am *December 2011 - January 2018: 7.00am to 10.00am and 5.00pm to 8.00pm *January 2018 - March 2019: 6.00am to 10.00am and 5.00pm to 8.00pm *March 2019 onwards: 6.00am to 11.00am and 5.00pm to 9.00pm Apart from the stipulated operating hours, Platform 1 will also be opened to facilitate NSL train withdrawals. Station layout Transport connections Rail Exits Eastern Concourse (built under the JEMP project) - Jem Shopping Mall, Big Box (Venture Avenue) Western Concourse (built separately and installed TITAN faregates at the earliest opportunity, as part of the J-Walk) - JCube, Westgate, Jurong East Bus Interchange, IMM Building (accessible by shuttle bus of 10 - 15 mins, if not Bus 52, 105, 333 and 990) References External links * * Jurong East Station Modification Project M Category:Railway stations opened in 1988 Category:Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore) stations